Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-02-26

qHD STORY OF A MINE.
By BRET HARTR
Uowrtehhed, 1881, yHouehton. lkihhin Z Co., end
p0blishcd By arrangement with them.l
Royal Thatcher glanced around the room,
took In oil its dreary suggestions in q half
weary, half indifferent sort Of way, aud
dropped into the lawyers own revolving
CHAIR ~ tia gentleman entered from tbs id
jacent room.
swell, you got back soon, Isee." said liar
lowe briskly
ayes" said his client, without looking up.
and with this notable distinction between
himself and all other previous clients. TINT he
seep,ul absolutely less Interested thau tue
lawyer. ayes, I'm here; aud, upon my soul.
I don't exactly know why"
.aYou told mo Of certain papers you had
discovered, /" suid the lawyer SUCCESSFULLY.
"Oh, yes" returned Thatcher with u slight
yawn. ave got hero some papers somc-
wheru"-he began to feel in his coat pocket
languidly-"but, by the way, this is a rather
dreary and God.forsaken sort of place! Let's
50 up to Wclcker's, and you con look ut them
over a bottle Of champagne"
"After I've looked at them, Two somethiDg
to show you, myself" said lIarlowe: "anh rs
for the champagne, we'll have that In tho
other room, by and by. At present l want
to have my bead clear, and yount too-if
youth oblige me by becoming sufficiently in
terested.in your own affairs to talk to mo
about them"
Thatcher was gazing abstractedly at The
fire. He started. II dare say" he began,
sim not very interesting; yet its possible
that my affairs have taken ~ a little too
much Of my time. However," he sto ped,
took from his pocket an envelope. and threw
it on the ~desk-"thcre are some papers. I
don't: know what value they mag be, that is
for you to determine. don't know that I've
any legal right to their possession-thnt is
for you to say, too. They came u me in a
queerway. On the overland journey here I
lost. my bag, containing my few traps aud
some letters and papers of no value "a the
advertisements say. to any but the owner.'
Well, the bag was lost, but the stage driver
declares that it was stolen by o fellow pas.
sengcr-a man by the name of Giles, or Stiles,
OF. Biles-"
"Wiles," said Harlowe earnestly.
ayes" continued Thatcher, suppressing a
yawn; "Yes, I guess you're rigbt-Wiles.
Well, the stage driver, finally believing this,
goes to work and quietly and unostentatiously
steuls-I.say, have you got a cigarp
@1ll get you one"
Harlowe disappeared in tho adjoining room.
Thatcher dragged Harlowe,s heavy, revolving
desk chair, which never before had been re-
moved from its sacred position, to the fire,
and began to poke the Goals abstractedly.
Harlowe reappeared with cigars and
matches. Thatcher lit one mechanically, and
said, between the pufs:
ado you-ever-talk-to yourselfi"
@No!-whyP
II thought I heard your voice just now in
the other room. Anyhow, this is an awful
spooky place. II l stayed here alone hall
an hour, I'D fancy that the lord chancellor
up.there would step down in his robes. out Of
his frame, to keep mo company"
Nonsense! When I'm busy I often sit here
and write until after midnight, It's 50 quiet!'
,"D-mnably sol"
swell, to 60 buck to the papers. Some
body stole your bag, or you lost it. You
stole"
"fho driver stole" suggested Thatcher, SC
languidly that it could hardly be called an in,
%terruption.
"Wcll, we'll say the driver stole. and passed
over to you as his accomplice, confederate u
receiver, certain papers belonging -"
!"Scc hero, Harlown. l don't feel like joking
in ghYtly law Office after midnight. Herr
arc your facts. Yuha Bill, the driver, stole
bog from, this passenger, Wiles, or Smiles
and handel IL tn mo u insure tho return u
my own. ! found in it some papers concern
ing my case. Thcrc thoy orc. DO with then
what you like"
Thatcher turned his Dyes again ubstractedl!
to the fire.
Harlowo tfnk out the first pnpar.
@A.w. this ssams to bo a tai.xrum. Yes
chi 'Colne to Washington Ut oncr. Curuel
do liaro.'"
Thatcher started. blushed like q girl, MI,
hurriedly reached for tho rmpcr.
"Nonsense. That's q mistake. A disputcl
I mislaid in the envelope"
Il SEE" slid the lawyer dryly.
u thought I had torn It up" continue,
Thatcher utter OH awkward pauss. lvgre
to say that hero that usually truthful n,al
elatsmuted q fiction. lilo had consulted il
dozen times u day on the journey. uid it wa
quite worn in its %cnfoldings. Harlowo's quicl
eye had noticed this, but be speedily bxs,n
interested and absorbed in tho other papers
Thatcher larssl into contemplation Of the fire
."Well," said uarlowc, linally turning u hi
client, @herc's enough To u1sras Gashwiler, o
close his mouth. As to tho rust, IT'S goo
reading-but 1 needn't toll you-no legal evi
donce. But it's pruof enough to stop then
from ever trying it ~again-when tho exist
ence Of this record is mnle known. Bribery
a har.i thing to fix on q man the only witnea
is naturally ulrticcps cri,ninis;-but It woul
not IL easy for them u explain away this rus
calls record. OneM two things don't unds,
stand: WHAT'S this opposite the Hon. X
name. Took tho medicine nitsiy, and feel
b.tter!' and herr, just iu the margin, after VI
Must be lubored within"
II suppss, our California slang borrow
largely from the medical and spiritual pre-
f~essiOn." returned Thatcher. slut isn't
odd that n man should keep a consrientiou
record of his own villainya"
Harlow", o little ubaslcd at his want q